What I am Working on

The Work

I am currently working on a novel. It has been under construction for the last three (and a bit) years. It has been rewritten multiple times, and is currently in its fifth draft.

Despite the long road and the changes in destination, I am passionate about this project. Unlike my other endeavours into the busy seas of novel writing, this story has not died in me. Instead, it grows and grows, and the characters take on a life outside of the confines of the pages. I really feel that I have something special here.

“Stories aren’t written, they are rewritten” – John Dufresne

Despite (or, in fact, due to) the rewrites, I feel that the novel will be ready for publication this year. I know that this is easier said than done. Publishing a novel is not a straightforward process. But, whatever lies ahead, I will not give up. I will also share my journey here on the blog – perhaps you can learn something from my triumphs and mistakes.

The Novel

The novel is called The Silent Symphony. It is a literary novel (a fancy way of saying that I don’t know what genre it falls into). The world has grown and the characters have become my friends.

Nymphs finding the head of Orpheus, John William Waterhouse (1900) [Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain]Here is the simplest description:

Cassius Wortham leaves all he knows behind to make it as a writer in the City, a nameless, walled metropolis at the crossroads of the world. But things are not as they seem. His roommate might have mob connections, his artist friend has addiction issues, and the waitress at the poetry club has political aspirations. Not to mention the invisible spirit of history that follows them around waiting to chronicle a looming catastrophe.

As overseas turmoil brings tides of refugees to the walls of the City. Ambitious leaders play at social engineering. The loudest voices are drowned in the growing silence. Only Cas, his friends and their ghostly tag-along hold the key to the future, for in the end the silent will decide the fate of the City. Listen…and you too may hear the instruments of the Silent Symphony.

I love allusions. Most of this novel’s gestation period has been devoted to incorporating mythology and other reference works. I won’t reveal these just yet (but, watch this space).

Your Thoughts

As always, I’d like to hear from you: what are you writing? What are you reading?